A fid is a tool used to hold open knots and holes in canvas, and to separate the “lays” or strands of synthetic or natural rope for splicing. Many different designs for fids have been created throughout the centuries from sharpened bones or sticks to machined metal rods. In many modern configurations for rope splicing applications, fids are formed similar to knitting needles, with long, narrow, cylindrical shafts with a conically pointed tip end. One end of a rope is typically attached to an end of the fid opposite the pointed end. Most fids for synthetic rope splicing tend to be very long (e.g., up to 18 in. (45 cm) or longer) and have no structure for attaching an end of the rope to an end of the fid. Often the rope is merely taped to the end of the fid in order to attach the two together. This is not an elegant solution; it requires the availability of tape; and it often does not hold the rope sufficiently tight to resist the stress of the splicing activity. Other fid devices may define a threaded bore opposite the tip end into which the rope end may be twisted and held in place by the threading. This solution is also not desirable as the threads may also not provide an adequate retention force to hold the rope during splicing operations.
The information included in this Background section of the specification, including any references cited herein and any description or discussion thereof, is included for technical reference purposes only and is not to be regarded subject matter by which the scope of the invention as defined in the claims is to be bound.